Grosvenor Prints

Having assembled a collection of prints relating to Peter Lely in our last post, here we go right back to the start of the 17th century (and earlier) with prints relating to the exhibition 'The Lost Prince', currently taking place at London's National Portrait Gallery, which explores the world of Henry Stuart (1594-1612). We hope you enjoy it and wish a happy Christmas to all readers. This portait of Henry Stuart derives from the Isaac Oliver miniature of c.1610-12, of which several versions exist. The print retains the oval format common to most of these miniatures:   Henricus Princeps Walliae etc. R. White Sculp. Sam Mearne Excudit. [n.d. c.1700, but later?] Engraving. Plate 157 x 102mm. 6¼ x 4". [Ref: 24344]   £40.00   (£48.00 incl.VAT) This is a portrait of Isaac Oliver, the famous miniature painter, holding one of his works with several others on a table in front of him: Isaacus Oliverus, Anglus, Pictor.

With the Courtauld Gallery currently exhibiting the early work of Peter Lely in their exhibtion Peter Lely: a Lyrical Vision , we have compiled a small selection of prints after, or related to, Lely's paintings. Of Dutch origin, Lely (1618-80) is regarded as  'one of the outstanding artists to have worked in seventeenth-century England'. His modern reputation 'is dependent on his portraits of the Restoration Court with its cast of beauties, mistresses and aristocratic rakes', and he 'made an immense impact on English portraiture- perhaps more than his celebrated contemporary Van Dyck'. Following the Restoration of Charles II, Lely became Principal Painter to the King, a position he held from 1660 until his death in 1680. This self-portrait, published during Lely's lifetime, commemorates his position as Principal Painter to the King:   Petrus Leley. Pictor Caroli II Magnae Brittanniae Regis. P: Lely delin. A: de Jode Sculp. [n.d. c.1666.] Eng